Colorado Has More at Finish

DENVER —  Bobby Purify scored on a nine-yard run with 40 seconds left, and Joel Klatt threw for 402 yards and four touchdowns in his first start as Colorado beat No. 23 Colorado State, 42-35, Saturday night.

Colorado State tied the score at 35-35 with 1:50 left when Bradlee Van Pelt broke two tackles on an option run for a 30-yard touchdown.

Colorado got the ball back on its 25-yard line with 1:44 left and went quickly down the field. Purify appeared to score on a four-yard run with 48 seconds left, but it was called back because of a procedure penalty.

Purify left no doubt on the second try, breaking around left end and diving to the corner pylon to give Colorado its first win in an opener in five years under Gary Barnett.

Colorado State got the ball back at its own 20-yard line, but Van Pelt’s final pass from the 50-yard line was knocked down.

Buildup for the rivalry game was more intense than in recent years, leading 76,219 fans to pile into Invesco Field -- the largest crowd to watch a college football game in Colorado. The Rams had won three of the previous four games in the rivalry.

From Associated Press